The end is the beginning

We are nearly at the end of our time away and we are experiencing a kind of liminal space. Still here, but our thoughts turning to home. Seeking to be present to enjoy our days in Paris, but the sense of an ending inevitably colouring the present. We've been holding that dynamic today and seeking to honour the whole of it. 

What then to do but wander the streets, and marvel some more? We began, after breakfast, with Notre Dame - 10 minutes walk from our hotel and its majesty never exhausted.

We met Charlemagne and his fearsomely moustached aide in the forecourt.

And noticed more of the exquisite details in the stone carvings on the facade above the west door.

The judgement scene with those condemned in chains and being led off by devils. If you look closely, you'll see there's a bishop amongst them!

And on the next tier, these beautifully human angels looking on, each with a different pose.

More in chains, bound up in misery ...

This martyr lost his head, but found it again!

We did not get inside the Cathedral as the queue was too long, maybe we can get in for vespers this evening?

From Notre Dame to the Louvre, the old palace of the kings, and still thronging with tourists at this late stage in the season.

There's a real presence of the military in the streets since the terrorist attacks of the last couple of years.

There are so many amazing buildings and sights in Paris, and almost every street cries out to be photographed.

Some garden shops along the Seine offered welcome colour on a grey morning.

Quite a nice tower in the background!

And another ... we're wondering about one of these for our garden courtyard!

Or maybe this arch would offer a better vista ...

After a while, we felt a bit overwhelmed by monuments and crowds of tourists, so headed into some relatively quieter streets and enjoyed looking at facades and cafes. Sarah is a compulsive menu reader and there was plenty to check out.

Les Deux Magots in St Germain is the cafe where Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir hung out. The price of hot chocolate there is exorbitant. That's the church of St Germain in the background.

Never mind the French philosophers, the Australian theologians are taking over now!! Heather, we've saved a seat for you...

No doubt there's poetry that can and has been written about French cafes, but as we've been pondering our experience of this ending and transition, we've been reminded again of Jack Gilbert's poem, 'The Lost Hotels of Paris', particularly as we are staying in one that probably more closely resembles what he was talking about.

The poem also seems very apt on the occasion of a fiftieth birthday, when you really do have to acknowledge that your youth is behind you. Reading the poem here, in these circumstances, has given it particular meaning for us. Here it is.

The Lost Hotels of Paris 

The Lord gives everything and charges
by taking it back. What a bargain.
Like being young for a while. We are
allowed to visit the hearts of woman,
go into their bodies so we feel
no longer alone. We are permitted
romantic love with its bounty and half-life
of two years. It is right to mourn
for the small hotels of Paris that used to be
when we used to be. My mansard looking
down on Notre Dame every morning is gone,
and me listening to the bell at night.
Venice is no more. The best Greek islands
have drowned in acceleration. But it’s the having
not the keeping that is the treasure.
Ginsberg came into my house one afternoon
and said he was giving up poetry
because it told lies, that language distorts.
I agreed, but asked what we have
that gets it right even that much.
We look up at the stars and they are
not there. We see the memory
of when they were, once upon a time.
And that too is more than enough.

So, we've had our experience of this trip too, we can't keep it and it must come to an end, but it is enough, and we trust that this end is also a beginning in all kinds of different ways.

Blessings, 

Sarah and Neil

 

PS. We did manage to get to Vespers, which was wonderful. And to cap off a great day, we also managed to find duck a l'orange for dinner - the meal Neil had been hoping for since we arrived in France!

Quinquagesima

So we came at last to the big birthday and we had a wonderful time! When we woke, the morning light was shining through the clouds over the roofs of Le Puy, and though the rain threatened it remained mild and dry.

The celebrations began at breakfast when Amir, our host, produced a delicious hazelnut and chocolate cake. 'It is good to start the day with chocolate', he said - and so we did!

The cake was shared with all the guests at breakfast, who wished Sarah 'bonne anniversaire'!!

From here, we walked up to the cathedral to meditate and light a candle in thanksgiving and anticipation for the season ahead. 

Later in the morning, we spent some time ambling through the old town with Anne and Gerald.

Always we see something new - there are so many little details in the streets and lanes of this city, including this painted corner piece of an otherwise fairly plain building.

Sally, you'll remember this - Le Petit Train! It seems to have the same warbling woman on commentary as last year!

Once again, we were all hosted for a picnic lunch in Pauline and David's camper. Pauline had brought a birthday cake from Jersey, complete with an enormous flaming candle whose safety instructions were so intimidating we decided we'd better light it outside, standing safely at a distance.

Fortunately, no one was injured during ignition!

After lunch, we walked back up to the cathedral to have our credentials stamped and for a final time of reflection, before hitting the shops to slightly refurbish our well-worn pilgrim wardrobes in order to look half-decent for the celebratory dinner we had planned for the evening. We had some fun and really helpful interactions with shopkeepers, which resulted in Sarah having red shoes, yellow tights and a beautiful dress to wear - because if you can't wear red shoes on your 50th, when can you??! They also reminded us of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, setting off on her pilgrimage home - which would be her next adventure.

The dinner itself was in a quaint old building in Rue Raphael, just a few doors up from where we have been staying. 

Again it was a fun night, where Sarah was asked to share what she was doing at each previous decade birthday and this inevitably led to a few sidetrack stories! For this delightful evening, and for the past few, we are very grateful to Gerald and Anne who have so generously footed the bill. It's been touching and encouraging for us to have been supported and spoilt by them in so many ways.

Le Puy at night is bathed in warm street light and is just as entrancing as it is by day.

The cathedral is stunning.

Returning to our room after dinner we were very conscious that our time here was drawing to a close. It has been a wonderful experience and we have turned to wonder many times along the way. We received a blessing when we departed and we truly have been blessed. As we return home to begin a new season may the blessing continue to work it way out in our lives, and especially, on this day, in Sarah's life. She's wearing red shoes folks, she's hitting her straps, and that's an exciting prospect!!

A day in Le Puy

It has been lovely to loll around in Le Puy today, taking it in and allowing ourselves to be taken further in to its life.

After a leisurely breakfast in our little pension, 'Une Coquille sous l'Oreiller' (a shell under the pillow), we climbed the 260 steps to the chapel of St Michel. Built in the 10th century by the bishop of Le Puy in thanksgiving for his pilgrimage to Santiago, the chapel is perched high on a basalt tor on the edge of the old town. There it is in the background of this photo.

And here's a few of the steps!

 It is a most amazing space - intimate and deeply contemplative.

The small windows are beautiful, each one a slightly different combination of colours. We thought of Kaleidoscope and Bron, of your glass work...

The ceiling is covered with fading frescos. We sat under this one and received a pilgrim blessing as many others will have done over the centuries.

The copper statue of St Michael is notable for the way the dragon he's slain has kind of morphed into a boat that carries him - some mature non-dualistic theology here.

We spent time inside, and then outside in the narrow surrounding walkway looking out at the city. And then in the early evening we returned for a concert of medieval music produced by a small group of local musicians - an early birthday celebration for Sarah. The production began at the chapel of St Clare down below and we processed up into St Michel in stages with readings, drums and music along the way. It was pretty special and required a sort of hardy concert goer to navigate the stairs as part of one's attendance. Luckily we'd been in training for six weeks!!!

The forested area in the middle background of this photo is the garden we walked through on our way in yesterday.

Following our morning in the chapel we wandered down town to meet up with Annie and Gerald, Neil's  folks, who had just arrived from their travels around France and Italy. It was so good to catch up and share lunch with them both, our first get together since May. In the evening we were joined by Pauline and David, Neil's aunt and uncle, who have also been holidaying in France in their camper van. So we have had family to celebrate with today - what a treat.

In the afternoon, we walked into the oldest part of town, whose narrow winding lanes and small houses are still very much lived in. As we stood gazing around us at one corner, a nun emerged from a gate below and greeted us. She asked about our visit to Le Puy, we shared our story of pilgrimage and about Benedictus, and she offered to show us inside her convent just next door. So in we went, and she showed us some of the oldest parts of their building - the 17th century refectory complete with the sublime calligraphy painted on the walls and raised 'pulpit' built into the wall from which the reading during meals takes place; the kitchen with its enormous fireplace; and then down an even older stone staircase to a well from which the sisters had drawn water for centuries. According to legend, it was dug after the founder of the convent, St Colette, had prayed that her sisters might have access to water within the walls of their house! Our friendly nun was from a group of apostolic sisters who had moved into the convent only last year - they too had begun using the water from the old well, until they'd had it tested and been advised to desist immediately. We suggested that further prayer for fresher water might be in order! It was such a privilege to see 'inside' this part of the life of Le Puy, a hidden world that few get to see. 

To close today, we'll leave you with a few street scenes, mainly focussing on the colourful shutters that adorn the old stone buildings.

Le Puy is that great mix of a town that's small enough that you can feel familiar with it, but big and layered enough that you never exhaust its possibilities. Tomorrow we hope to spend some more time at the Cathedral as Sarah celebrates her 50th birthday. We hope to have some more delights from this place to share with you as well.

Blessings

Neil and Sarah